


The Holly and the Ivy

by forgotmyline



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Christmas, Drabble, Drabble Collection, F/M, Holidays, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-01
Updated: 2016-07-13
Packaged: 2018-05-04 20:44:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 25
Words: 2,981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5347946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/forgotmyline/pseuds/forgotmyline
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Christmas drabbles for my Inquisitor, Eloise, and Cullen. There will be one per day leading up to Christmas.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Ice Skating

**Author's Note:**

> I came across [this post](http://klarogasms.tumblr.com/post/134412843102/25-days-of-christmas) of Christmas prompts on Tumblr and thought it might be fun to give it a go. I'll be writing a drabble (really going to try for exactly 100 words for each, but we'll see how that goes) for each day.

“I’m not so sure about this, darling.”

Eloise wobbled on her skates, placing a hand against a weathered signpost as she surveyed the frozen pond before turning to give her husband a wary look. Without a thought, she placed her other hand on the swell of her belly until Cullen reached forward to take both of her hands into his. “I know I’m not huge yet, but my center of balance…”

“I’ve got you, love. Do you honestly think I’d let you fall?”

She couldn’t help but be nervous, especially now. She stepped forward with a sigh, trusting her husband to keep her steady, as always.


	2. Hot Cocoa

It was the middle of winter in Ferelden, so when Eloise heard a loud clanging coming from the basement, she knew it couldn’t possibly be good news. Her fears were confirmed when Cullen came back up from the basement, his golden curls tousled, a streak of grease marring his otherwise perfect face.

She handed him a steaming mug of hot cocoa before asking, “What was it?”

He took it with a quick smile. “The boiler. I talked to a plumber, but he won’t be able to get here until tomorrow afternoon.”

“Then it’s a good thing I have you to keep me warm until then.”


	3. Ugly Christmas Sweaters

“Cullen Stanton Rutherford!” Eloise yelled up the stairs. “ _Hurry up_. We need to leave fifteen minutes ago! If we’re late for Christmas dinner, my mother will be furious!”

Eloise stood at the bottom of the stairs, tapping her foot as she waited for Cullen to make an appearance. She heard his heavy footsteps and looked up, her eyes widening when she saw his sweater.

“Cullen, darling, I know ugly sweaters are a Christmas tradition in my family, but I’m not sure they’ll appreciate deer… fornicating on yours.”

The cheeky bastard just grinned as he pulled on his coat. “Too late to change now, love.”


	4. Scarfs and Mittens

“But Da!”

Cullen tried to keep as straight face as his youngest stamped her feet, mittened fists on her hips, wild blonde curls barely contained by a hat. At only six, she already knew what she wanted out of life. And what she wanted was to leave her scarf off. “Saoirse, love, do you want to go play in the snow with your siblings or not?”

“Yes, but the scarf _chokes_ me. Do you _want_ me to choke, Da?”

He raised an eyebrow at her, wordless, until she yanked her scarf from his hand. She glared at him, wrapping the scarf around her neck before running off to play, defiant to the end.


	5. Fairy Lights

It took a moment for Eloise to realize that she wasn’t dreaming, that the frantic mumbling and tossing next to her was Cullen having another nightmare. Her vision was still hazy from sleep, the Christmas lights on the window nothing more than blurs of white and gold shedding faint illumination on the man beside her.

She lay back down, curling around Cullen from behind, whispering words of comfort. He woke up in a cold sweat, confused for a moment until he turned to Eloise, pulling her in tightly with a sigh of relief. He buried his face into her curls, whispering, “Thank you, love,” before drifting off to sleep again.


	6. Christmas Shopping

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I'm so behind! I sort of fell into the Fallout trap, and then remembered I hadn't written one of these in a few days. So now I get to post five at once :D

“You’re stalling, Cullen. The sooner we leave, the sooner we can finish up the last of our Christmas shopping.”

Cullen rolled his eyes at his fiancee. “Yes, because going to the toy store a few weeks before Christmas is going to be quick and painless, right?”

“Well we can’t just not get presents for your nieces and nephews!” Eloise replied, hands on her hips.

“That's what free two day shipping is for, ” Cullen pulled her close, his mouth grazing her ear. He knew he had her convinced when she gasped as he whispered, “Think of all the things we could do with that time instead, love.”


	7. Christmas Baking

Chaos. Eloise saw utter chaos when she walked into her kitchen after a rather long and arduous day at work. They were going to Branson’s house the next day to celebrate with the Rutherfords and Cullen had promised to start baking the Christmas cookies that they were bringing. She had been skeptical - getting anything accomplished with five children was a miracle in and of itself - but this was worse than she expected.

She stopped short in the doorway, unnoticed by her family. Cullen was happily singing along to carols, oblivious as he placed a sheet of cookies in the oven. Ioan and Grier were doing just fine, mixing a new batch of dough. Even Eirwyn was keeping herself out of trouble, eyes closed as she hummed and spun around the kitchen. Saoirse and Seeley, their twins, were havoc personified, more flour than child, spreading their destruction throughout the rest of the kitchen as they giggled.

Eyes wide, Eloise turned and made her way upstairs, deciding to let Cullen handle this one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I sort of picture Eloise and Cullen having a brood of children, having both grown up in four children families. I also really love the idea of Cullen as a stay at home parent.


	8. Snow

The reading nook at their bedroom window was probably Eloise’s favorite part of the rambling old farmhouse that she and Cullen had bought last year. She had it piled with cushions, a shelf of hers and Cullen’s favorite books nearby, and it was big enough that they could sit together as they read.

She put her book down as Cullen sat behind her, wrapping a blanket around both of them. She smiled, leaning back into his warmth and tilting her head back to steal a quick kiss. They sat there, silently, watching the snow falling, slow and gentle, barely illuminated by the porch light outside. 


	9. Candles and Books

“Oh… it’s _lovely_ Cullen,” Eloise whispered as he tugged her into her office.

He beamed, clearly proud of himself, glad that she had liked his surprise. She had wanted to put a Christmas tree in her office, but there wasn’t enough room, so he made one for her. On a small table by window, he had cleverly stacked books into the shape of a tree, littered with those tiny battery powered candles and strewn with a thin strand of garland.

She turned, leaning up on her toes and pulling his face down to hers. “Thank you, love,” she whispered before capturing his lips with her own. 


	10. Advent Calendar

“Mama, Mama!”

Eloise turned, smiling as three year old Ioan came tumbling into her arms. “Careful of your sister, muffin” she warned him, patting her round belly. “Now what can I do for you?”

“Da says I can have today’s candy! Will you help?”

She nodded, pulling a stepstool to the counter so her son could reach the wooden advent calendar that sat atop it. She watched as he found the right number, gleeful as he pulled out a tiny wrapped chocolate. He ran off to show his spoils to his father, tiny chubby fists raised in triumphant glory.


	11. Cuddling

It was too quiet in the house. Eloise had sent the kids into the living room to play while Cullen made dinner and she finished grading papers in her office. They could be quiet when they chose to, but this… this silence had her imagining all sorts of plotting and planning being done by her unruly brood.

She hurried downstairs, leaving her students’ papers in a haphazard pile, stopping in shock when she got to the living room. All five of them were asleep, snuggled up together like a pile of puppies. Eloise slid her phone out of her pocket, slow and quiet, to snap a picture, wanting proof that this had really happened. 


	12. Fireplace

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm the actual worst and completely abandoned this not even halfway through December. It lay in my documents folder, untouched and forgotten, until a random kudos reminded me that I never finished. So, here I am, with the rest of these little stories, even if it is the middle of July (Christmas in July is a thing, right?). Anyway, sorry for the extreme delay, but I'll be posting days 12 - 25 to make up for it a little :D

The fire crackled and popped before her, its glow almost mesmerizing. Eloise knew she was being childish - adults weren't supposed to stomp out in the middle of a fight and lock their husbands out of the bedroom they shared. She had just been so  _ angry _ , though sitting here in front of the fireplace, tears falling fast and heavy, she couldn't exactly remember why.

The door creaked open, slow and hesitant. Cullen must have picked the lock, a skill she had taught him. She wanted to be angry but she was rather proud of how quickly he picked it up.

She remained silent as he sat on the floor beside her, leaned her head on his shoulder when he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her tight. Perhaps… perhaps it wasn't so bad after all.


	13. Christmas Carols

Maker’s breath, this was bloody awful. They were her kids, and Eloise loved them of course, but not a single one of them managed to end up with a decent singing voice.

She plastered on a smile, though she was sure it looked more like a grimace, squeezing her husband’s hand as she sat through yet another song. Cullen, damn him, looked at her, his eyes filled with amusement, before turning to their children and clapping as they finished. “Lovely, absolutely perfect, kids. How about just one more song for your mum?”


	14. Family

Perfection. This gathering was exactly what Eloise had imagined for her home, the home she shared with Cullen. She leaned against the doorframe, watching silently as her favorite people in the world played a game of charades. Dorian was acting out something she wasn't sure she wanted to know, while the rest of the group threw out guesses with wild abandon. 

In the end, Cassandra got it right, earning her an awkward fist bump from Varric while Bull exclaimed that he didn't think Cass even knew what a fist bump was.

Eloise couldn't help the smile on her face just then, seeing the joy and love shared by this group, this family she had chosen for herself.


	15. Christmas Tree

“This one, Da. This one is  _ our _ tree, don't you think?”

If he were being generous, Cullen might say the tree his youngest was currently hugging had character. If he were being less generous, he would say that character was scraggly and worn. It was shorter than he by several inches, its branches sparse, color dull. 

And Saoirse loved it, of course. His daughter was a little bit wild and he always thought that she saw herself in some of the creatures and plants she took home. Unconventional, but no less deserving of affection. “I do think so, pup. This one is ours.”


	16. Santa Clause

This was not going well, not at all. Cullen had warned his wife, though he was hard pressed to feel superior about just how right he was with his infant son screaming his little head off. Ioan did not, apparently, trust Santa (not that Cullen blamed him. This particular Santa looked a little suspect if you asked him).

Eloise was apologizing profusely to the woman behind the camera, and the line was getting backed up, so Cullen did the only thing he could think to fix the situation. He plucked his son from Santa’s lap, ignoring the pleading look on his frazzled wife's face. There was always next year.


	17. Red and Green

“How do you feel about eloping?”

Eloise didn't know she wanted it until she said the words aloud. It's not that she didn't want the whole traditional wedding, getting married in front of all their friends and family, white dress, and flowers everywhere. It was just all too much. She was supposed to be getting ready for Christmas with both her and Cullen’s very large families  _ and _ planning their wedding, but looking at all the pictures and lists in front of her was making her head swim, the green and red of their decorations growing blurry as she felt a headache coming on.

Her fiance was staring at her thoughtfully, his head tilted as he watched her massage her temples. “The stress is that bad?” he whispered, and she nodded in return. “If that's what you truly want, then yes.”


	18. Mistletoe

Cullen couldn’t imagine anything more perfect than this moment, being pulled into his wife’s embrace, her kiss desperate and growing more so by the second. Hands wandering, a hint of nails scratching his spine as she made a slow slide down to his rear. Teeth, biting his lower lip until he opened for her, her tongue sweeping into his mouth as if she couldn’t get enough of his taste, still, after all these years. 

Eloise pulled away, her breathing labored much like his own, auburn curls mussed, her lips red and kiss swollen, eyes twinkling and a grin on her face.

“Not that I mind or anything, but what was that for?” he asked between breaths.

Her grin widened and without a word, she pointed to the mistletoe above their heads before walking away.


	19. Christmas Party

There were dozens of things Eloise could think of that would be better than this party. To be fair, it wasn’t the party itself - Cullen’s work threw a lovely Christmas party every year and this one was no exception. But she was eight months pregnant this time, miserable and bloated and feeling gigantic, and she couldn’t find Cullen anywhere. He had gone in search of something for her to eat, something that, she hoped, wouldn’t give her heartburn, but that was at least 20 minutes ago. Back aching and ankles swollen, she waddled through the crowd in the direction her husband had last headed, hoping to find him and convince him to leave the party early.

She finally saw him, and the sight nearly made her cry. As if he could read her mind, there he was, their coats in hand, making their excuses to his coworkers.


	20. Silly Hats

It wasn’t easy, trying to corral their kids together for a Christmas picture, but needs must, and all that. Cullen’s family and her own had been asking for a picture of them all together, so here they were, all of them wearing ugly Christmas sweaters and long, ridiculous elf hats. Eloise wrangled the kids into position while Cullen tried to get the camera timer going. It was a close one, but he made it to his place just before the flash went off. It was their fifth attempt and she didn’t care what the picture looked like because it was also their last.

She could hardly believe her eyes when she looked at the picture. It was… well, it was rather perfect. Everyone was smiling  _ and  _ looking at the camera, eyes all open and actually smiling.  


	21. Chocolate, Apples, and Cinnamon

The smell of pies baking filled the house, apples and cinnamon and buttery crust. It was one of Cullen’s favorite smells in the world, reminding him of the warmth of his mother’s kitchen when he was a young boy. He peeked in on his pies in the oven - a few minutes more, he thought, and then he could start on the chocolate truffle pie, his fiancee’s favorite dessert and a new edition to his holiday pie making list. 

He surveyed the kitchen, which was more or less clean considering, but perhaps he had gone overboard with the pies. They weren’t having that many guests the next day, but that didn’t stop him from making apple pie, blueberry crumble, cherry cobbler, and pecan pie. And the truffle pie, of course. It was worth it though, just for the smell alone and the memories it brought back.


	22. Knitting

“It’s lovely, darling. Did you make this yourself?”

Seven year old Ioan beamed up at his mother, nodding vigorously. “Uh huh. You knit stuff for me and Grier and Eirwyn and Da all the time, so I wanted to knit something for you.”

Eloise held up the lumpy purple and blue scarf, wrapping it around her neck before kissing her son’s cheek. “And how did you learn to knit?”

“Da taught me. But he didn’t know how either, so he watched a video on the internet and learned, then he showed me. He got the loops on the needles for me, but I did the rest.”

So proud of himself, her thoughtful son. She swept him into a fierce hug, squeezing him tight. “It’s the best present I’ve ever gotten, my love.”


	23. Stars

“Did you see that one?”

Eloise nodded, her line of sight following Cullen’s outstretched hand as he embraced her from behind. The winter sky was clear and dark, and they had a spectacular view of the meteor shower as the sat together on the roof of their house, Eloise in Cullen’s lap, his arms wrapped tight around her. “I saw. Did you make a wish?”

Eloise tried to turn when she felt him pull away a bit, but he was back before she could. His arm wrapped around her once again, but in his hands was a small box, open to show a sapphire and white gold ring. “I wished for you, Eloise, for the rest of my life.”


	24. Toys

Maker’s breath, but it was a disaster here. It’s not that Eloise had expected anything different - it was Christmas morning after all, and she had five kids. Still, she couldn’t see the floor, currently covered in toys and wrapping paper while the children tried out every single new thing they had gotten. 

Instinct to straighten up warred with her desire to enjoy the moment. She shook her head and laughed, letting fun win when she chose to sit in one of the few clear spots on the floor and try out one of the new toys her twins had just opened.


	25. Wishes

Dear Santa,

Mama and Da just let me and Grier know that there's going to be another baby. They also told Eirwyn, but she’s too little to understand. Anyway, I'm writing to ask if there was any way you could make the new baby be a brother. It's not that I don't like sisters. Grier can be a pain sometimes, but she’s mostly not too bad. Eirwyn is still pretty young. She'll probably be ok, but I don't think I'll know for sure until she's a little older. Anyway, I heard my parents say this baby would be the last when they didn't think I was awake. That means it's my last chance for a brother, and I think having one would be pretty good.

Yours,

Ioan Gabriel Rutherford, age 8, Ferelden


End file.
